Field and Simulator Evaluations of a PC-Based Attention Maintenance Training Program

Abstract

This report presents the results of three research studies regarding driver distraction from the forward roadway due to secondary in-vehicle tasks. Study 1 included the development and evaluation of a PC-based training program named Forward Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL). The computer program was designed to teach novice drivers to manage their glances away from the roadway and to avoid extended glances over 2 seconds. Results of Study 1 demonstrated that the FOCAL program was effective for changing glance behaviors as measured by the PC-based Attention Maintenance Assessment Program, also developed as part of Study 1. Study 2 was a field study on active roadways that evaluated the impact of FOCAL on glance behaviors by comparing trained and untrained newly licensed young drivers. An advance eye tracking system was used to collect data on the glance behaviors of trained and untrained participants while driving on active roadways and completing a variety in-vehicle tasks. Results showed that drivers who received FOCAL training had significantly lower proportions of tasks with glances that exceeded various thresholds (i.e., 2 seconds, 2.5 seconds, 3 seconds), and, collapsing across tasks, trained drivers had a lower proportion of glances over those thresholds compared to the untrained group. In Study 3, essentially the same study protocol used in Study 2 was applied in a high-fidelity driving simulator. Study 3 results showed a similar pattern of results to Study 2 with the trained group having significantly lower proportions of glances above the various glance duration thresholds. The magnitude of the differences between training groups was, however, greater in the simulator than in the field. Together, the results from these three studies suggest that young drivers may benefit from training that addresses attention maintenance skills. A clear limitation of this project is that the evaluations of the training always occurred immediately after training, so the extent to which the individuals retain any skill is unknown. The research also indicates that computer-based and simulator-based assessments are likely valid for testing the attention maintenance skills of drivers. The findings support further development of FOCAL-like programs and further testing of FOCAL to determine if such training impacts the driving safety of younger drivers.